Getting the optimal gaming experience is not easy. You’ve done all the right things: installed a powerful graphics card on the computer, hooked up a beastly sound system, and arranged your gaming space for maximum comfort.
After a while, you realize that you need better cooling for increased performance or that you’re now interested in live streaming.
You’re still missing something, though: the benefits of using a virtual private network (VPN) for gaming. Using a VPN can greatly improve your gaming experience in ways you haven’t thought about, whether you set it up on your home router, gaming console, or PC.
Here, we consider seven powerful reasons why you should pay for a top VPN service to make your gaming experience better. The VPN provider you decide to use is ultimately your choice. But to make the process of choosing easier, you can visit our reviews of the best VPN services in the industry if you’re wondering, “What VPN should I use?”
Now, on to the reasons for using VPN for gaming.
1. Be among the first to play new titles
Every enthusiastic gamer would be excited to get their hands on the freshest games, but that’s not possible for many gamers, thanks to frustrating launch dates. In most cases, games are released at different times depending on the geographical location. Even though the releases are a few days apart, this slight difference can significantly affect your performance.
To get around that, savvy gamers use paid VPNs (avoid free ones!) installed on their gaming console, router, or PC to connect to the game server in a different location using a server in a country of their choosing. Thanks to this simple VPN feature, you need not wait a whole week to play a game that you want to play today.
2. Play as you travel
You might, for example, live in the US and do your gaming from there. A time may come when you need to travel abroad. While you’re away, connecting to your usual gaming server may not be possible because when you access the Internet from your new location, you’ll be required to use the local servers.
A VPN provides the solution to this problem. A top-tier VPN service that offers high-speed services and a vast network of servers will enable you to connect to the game using a server in your home country. As soon as you load the game, the usual game server that you prefer should be available to you.
Therefore, a VPN lets you hop on to your home server from any location in the world. Just remember to keep an eye on the roaming charges and ensure your laptop is plugged in to an outlet socket.
3. Access PlayStation and Xbox Live exclusives from any location worldwide
Are you feeling left out? Have you been in a situation where you hear of a PlayStation Network exclusive that you’re interested in participating in but you’re unable to because of your location? Many other users around the world have experienced the same problem.
Fortunately, a solution exists. By using a VPN, you can simply change your connection to a VPN server in the location where the PSN exclusive is available. Log into your PSN account, get the exclusive, and have a blast. Keeping in mind that to play the game, you must maintain your connection to a specific server.
4. Reduce latency and ping times
You can considerably reduce ping times and network lags by using a high-speed connection to a VPN server located in the gaming server’s region. When it comes to getting a great gaming experience, speed is not simply about fast upload and download speeds, which any Internet service provider (ISP) can provide.
Ping time refers to the duration it takes for data to be sent and received. So a ping of 30 milliseconds refers to the 30-millisecond duration that it takes for your device to respond to a request from the device of another user.
The lower the number, the speedier the connection. Your ping rate is displayed by online games. The figure should be under 1000 so that you’re gaming experience is not affected by network delays. A VPN can be quite useful in this regard.
5. Play multiplayer games no matter your location
A VPN also allows you to play multiplayer titles that are not available in your region. Common reasons for the unavailability of these games in certain locations includes the game not having yet be launched in the specified region or the servers being grouped on the basis of language.
In all these cases, a top VPN service can help you get around these location-based restrictions in the same way VPN unlimited Netflix providers would help you view content from Geo-restricted content streaming websites. Simply switch to a VPN server in the region where the multiplayer game is being hosted and you’ll be playing in a matter of minutes.
6. Keep your data secure and private
Online gaming servers need moment-by-moment monitoring by admins to ensure good security and performance. The admins regularly carry out patching from the point of the server and the game client in order to address security issues.
A hacker can exploit vulnerabilities in the game you’re participating in should they find any vulnerabilities. They may, for example, infiltrate your account and steal your collections and game inventory. Even worse, malicious users can commandeer your game connection and use it to break into the rest of your PC.
With a VPN, you can prevent this from happening by encrypting your connection to the game server and making it impervious to hackers, who will typically ignore your connection and go after less secure, more vulnerable ones.
7. Prevent throttling by your ISP
You researched well and chose an ISP that offers the right balance of affordability and reliability. It provides you with a high-speed connection and massive bandwidth, along with a free static IP address. You even encouraged your friends to sign up with the same great ISP.
However, sometimes your connection to your game is slow, and you assume the reason may be that most of your neighbors are online. The truth may not be quite as simple, though. ISP curb overuse of bandwidth through throttling, ostensibly to bring down congestion in the network and ensure all users enjoy a uniform experience.
Throttling can heavily impact your gaming experience. It happens when your ISP inspects your data packets and determines that they are coming from bandwidth-hungry services such as online gaming and streaming services.
A VPN encrypts your data packets, making them indistinguishable from other users’ data packets. For that reason, your ISP cannot inspect your connection and throttle it. A lot of business traffic is encrypted, and ISP can’t risk throttling these customers because it may hurt their business.
Bottom line
The reasons outlined above for gaming through a VPN are powerful. An argument can even be made that a VPN can be the tool that ensures you have a high-speed, uninterrupted gaming experience. Even though it is not useful for offline games, once you get into the realm of online multiplayer games, there is a place for a VPN in your arsenal.
Do you use a VPN hardware for home network when online gaming? Do you have other reasons for doing so? If so, let share them along with any questions you may have in the comment section.